Raiders Night by Robert Lipsyte

volcanoes.
    â€œI’m serious. WYA. Hi, Sarah.”
    â€œHi, Pete.” She took Matt’s arm and steered him into the thick of the party. Clumps of kids peeled away to let them through to Mandy, the queen on a couch, snuggling up to a guy who had graduated a few years ago. College guy.
    Brody was sitting nearby with Terri. How’d they get so tight? Everybody looked a little wasted already. Brody gave him a little head shake. Take off.
    Too late.
    â€œLook who dragged the cat in.” Mandy sat up. “You’ve got some fucking nerve, Matt, showing up with that fag hag.”
    Even if he wanted to split now, he couldn’t, kids pressing in all around them. Hard to breathe. What was he trying to prove?
    The college guy piped up. “Maybe you should just leave, pal.” But he didn’t stand up. No threat there.
    â€œMaybe you should just kiss my ass, pal.”
    The college boy started to untangle himself from Mandy, but she held on to him. She knew Matt could take him.
    â€œJust get the fuck out,” Mandy said. “Take that Wal-Mart slut with you. Did you do her mother, too?”
    â€œYou loser,” snarled Sarah. He could feel her body vibrating against his. “All that liposuction and you still can’t hold on to your man.”
    â€œWhore!” Mandy launched herself off the couch,right at Sarah, her red-tipped fingernails clawing the air.
    Sarah froze. He heard her gasp.
    Instinct and training clicked in. He spun Sarah out of the way, dropped a shoulder, and let Mandy slam into it. There was a thunk and a moan. He reached out to grab her as she fell, a mistake, and the red claws raked his cheek. He let go, and she slumped to the floor, crying and sucking air. The party swarmed around her.
    Ramp was laughing. “Nice block, Rydek.” He raised his hand for a high five. Matt ducked under it and pulled Sarah through the crowd and out of the house.

SEVENTEEN
    They drove around for a while, not talking, listening to a new CD without hearing it. They ended up three towns away at a diner packed with middle-aged couples who must have just come from a nearby cineplex. Nobody here we’d know, he thought.
    Sarah was pale, her eyes red rimmed. She pushed her French fries around her plate with her fork.
    â€œYou okay?”
    He had to say it twice before she said, “I’m really sorry.”
    â€œFor what?”
    â€œI guess I had something to prove. Stupid.”
    â€œI took you there.”
    She looked up. “We should put peroxide or something on your face.”
    â€œWouldn’t want to get cat scratch fever.” It just came out. Funny line.
    It got a smile out of her. Some of the color came back into her face. “It was so embarrassing.”
    â€œShe should be embarrassed,” said Matt. “She acted like a jerk.”
    Sarah reached across the table to touch his cheek.
    The good warmth spread down from his belly. “So, you gonna take me to the emergency room?”
    Her tinkly laugh was back. “I was thinking of intensive care.”
    They drove back to the condo. Her mother was out of town working, she said. It was a small, neat apartment. It looked like a motel suite. A cat saw Matt and scurried away. Sarah led him into the bathroom, sat him down on the toilet lid, and found peroxide and gauze pads in the cabinet.
    There was a splash of pain, then they were kissing, pulling at each other’s clothes. He palmed a condom before his pants came down.
    He didn’t remember how they got to her bedroom. They swept stuffed animals off her bed.
    She wasn’t shy, didn’t wait for him to make the first moves, like Mandy. She seemed as fierce and hungry as he was. It excited and scared him, her hands squeezing and tugging all over his body. He had to concentrate to match her energy. Some part of him wanted to hold back, to stay on guard as their bodies slipped over each other on flimsy layers of